Process for ornamenting surfaces



Patented Nov. 17, 1931 NITED, STATES JOHN E. GEORGE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO THE ALLIGATOR COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE PROCESS FOR ORNAMENTING SURFACES No Drawing.

My invention relates to a process for ornamenting surfaces, one particular application being the manufacture of material for use in making waterproof garments. The object of the process is to produce an exterior appearance which may be referred to as a frost'ed effect, although the color of the portions having the linings similar to natural frost may be of other colors as Well as white.

My process comprises impregnating a woven fabric, preferably silk, with a liquid material which, when coagulated or dried in a film, is fiexible-viscous linseed oil being an example of such liquid. In application this treatment comprises immersing the fabric in the liquid and then passing it through rolls, or other known means, to remove the surplus liquid and predetermine the thickness of the product before drying. The treated fabric is then dried, preferably by the application of heat, and the resulting product is'a flexible sheet to which I next apply a coating of liquid composition consisting of two parts viscous linseed oil and one part China wood oil, preferably with the addition of a drier in the form of linoleate of lead, cobalt, or manganese, and I also preferably add approximately 15% by volume of a suitable thinner, such as petroleum naphtha. The China wood oil used in this composition is heat treated to cause it to have such viscosity as to give the mixture the characteristic of producing a film which, when coagulated under the prompt application of heat, will form a wrinkled surface consisting of very' small ridges in close proximity to each other, of uniform size, and uniformly distributed over the surface but having a' variety of arrangements with relation to each other, such as being substantially parallel in some areas, in fan shape in other areas, and irregular in still other 'areas.

The second coating just described may be applied to the product resulting from the first portion of the process by immersing it in the composition and then passing it be tween rolls to determine the thickness of the applied film. A suitable thickness to accomplish the desired result may be determined by experiment since the film may be made too Application filed. February 23,-1929. Serial No. 342,301.

thick or too thin to produce the patterns and uniform distribution thereof all over the treated material, which is desired. It is also necessary -to the formation of the desired uniformly distributed patterns that promptly after applying the second coating above described, the material be passed into an oven and subjected to a temperature of not less than 110 degrees F..

Up to subjecting the material of the second coat to heat, the'process so far described is the same as the process described in the copendingapplication of David M. Flournoy and Pericles D. George, Serial No. 209,133. According to my process, instead of entirely drying the second coat, I preferably subject the coated fabric to the drying temperature only long enough to cause the patterns to be for-med by the coagulation of the material of the second coat, and before the surface of this material isdried I immediately pass the treated fabric through a liquid bath of the same composition as the bath employed in applying the second coat but carrying a pigment, preferably metallic, such as aluminum powder, or bronze powder. The fabric is then passed between rolls to remove all excess liquid and pigment carried by it. Finally, the fabric is dried, preferably by means of heated'air. The resulting fabric has frost patterns distributed over it, which, when aluminum powder is employed as a pigment in the third bath, closely resemble natural frost. When bronze powder is used a similar frost-like distribution occurs and possibly the best way to describe the highly pleasing and ornamental patterns produced by my process is to say that the distribution of the patterns produced by the metallic pigments are similar to, and vary, much as frost patterns which form on windows. While I assume that the irregular distribution of thepigment which results in these patterns is caused by slight variations in height of, the preformed ridges in the material of the second coat, or their varying resiliency at the time they are pressed between the rolls after application of the pigment coat, I do not intend to limit the scope of my invention by any theory as to the conditions which produce the novel results described, nor to treatin surfaces which are wrinkled in the particular patterns formed by the composition herein described for use as a second coating.

I am further aware that the liquid carrier for the pigment employed may be other than the particular material used for the second coat, since linseed oil alone .could be employed, as well as other coagulable liquids. I also do not limit my process to the use of the particular China wood oil composition employed for the second coat, my process in its broadest aspect comprising application of a liquid carrying a pigment (to a fabric or other surface coated with a coagulable material which wrinklesirregularly. in drying) after the ridges have been formed but preferably before the material has been fully dried, and applying a rolling pressure as previously described.

applying to the surface thereof a li uid composition comprising China wood oi of such viscosity as to have the characteristic of form- The fabric which is treated in accordance with my process may be of any one of a variety of colors and that it is translucent after the treatment with the particular materials 7 described, and the metallic pigment is opaque and reflects light, contributes to its very attractive appearance.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The process of ornamenting a surface which comprises applying thereto a coating of material which has the characteristic of forming surface wrinkles when dried under heat, partially drying said coating but to suflicient extent to cause the formation of the wrinkles, applying to said partially dried coat a coagulable liquid containing a. pigment, applying pressure to remove the surplus liquid, and finally fully drying said coatmgs.

2. The process of forming an ornamental waterproof material, which comprises immersing silk fabric in a liquid compound capable of forming a flexible film when dried, passing the treated fabric through means to remove the surplus liquid, drying the same, applying to the surface thereof a liquid composition comprising China wood oil of such viscosity as to have the characteristic of forming a wrinkled surface when dried, subjecting the material so treated to heat of sufficient degree and for suflicient time to cause the last mentioned composition to form surface wrinkles but not to fully dry the same, and then applying thereto a coagulable liquid composition having a pigment mixed therewith, subjecting the material to rolling pressure, and finally drying the coatings.

3. The process of forming an ornamental waterproof material, which comprises im-' mersing silk fabric in a liquid compound capable of forming a flexible filin when dried,

passing the treated fabric through means to remove the surplus liquid, drying the same, 

